Battery module and battery pack including the same

This application is a US national phase of international application No. PCT/KR2021/014613 filed on Oct. 19, 2021, and claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0164593 filed on Nov. 30, 2020, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The present disclosure relates to a battery module and a battery pack including the same, and more particularly to a battery module having a short-circuit prevention structure between busbars, and a battery pack including the same.

A secondary battery attracts significant attention as an energy source in various products such as a mobile device and an electric vehicle. The secondary battery is a potent energy resource that can replace existing energy products that use fossil fuels, and is in the spotlight as an environment-friendly energy source because it does not generate by-products from energy use.

Recently, along with a continuous rise in the need for a large-capacity secondary battery structure, including the utilization of the secondary battery as an energy storage source, there is a growing demand for a battery pack of a multi-module structure, which is an assembly of battery modules in which a plurality of secondary batteries are connected in series/parallel.

Meanwhile, when a plurality of battery cells are connected in series/parallel to configure a battery pack, a common method of configuring a battery module composed of at least one battery cell includes adding other components to the at least one battery module.

The battery module may include a battery cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked, a housing that houses the battery cell stack, and a busbar frame that covers the front and rear surfaces of the battery cell stack.

is a diagram showing a conventional battery module structure.

As illustrated in, the conventional battery module may include a housingthat houses the battery cell stack, a busbar framethat covers the front and rear surfaces of the battery cell stack, a plurality of busbarsthat is attached to the outer surface of the busbar frame, and a partition wallthat protrudes from the busbar frameto partition the plurality of busbars. In this configuration, only one partition wallis formed between adjacent busbarsamong the plurality of busbars, and the interval between the busbarsmay also be very narrow. Further, the interval between the housing bottom partand the busbarsmay also be very narrow.

Moisture generation inside the battery module and electrolyte leakage from the battery cells may occur, and these liquids may corrode the busbars and deposits are collected between the busbars, which causes a short circuit between busbars. When a short circuit occurs, the battery module is more likely to catch fire, which can lead to safety issues. As a result, a busbar and a busbar frame capable of preventing a short circuit between busbars in advance are essentially required.

It is an objective of the present disclosure to provide a battery module that can prevent a short-circuit between busbars, and a battery pack including the same.

The objectives of the present disclosure are not limited to the aforementioned objectives, and other objectives which are not described herein should be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description.

According to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a battery module comprising: a battery cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked, a busbar frame that is positioned in at least one end part of the battery cell stack, a housing that houses a cell block including the battery cell stack and the busbar frame, an end plate that covers the front and rear surfaces of the cell block and is coupled to the housing, and an insulating cover that is positioned between the end plate and the battery cell stack, wherein the insulating cover comprises a first insulating cover and a second insulating cover, and wherein the first insulating cover covers the first busbar coupled to the busbar frame, and the second insulating cover covers the second busbar coupled to the busbar frame.

The first busbar may have a larger area than the second busbar.

The second busbar may be a terminal busbar.

The insulating cover may further comprise a third insulating cover, and the third insulating cover is positioned at a lower end of a protrusion part formed at one end of the terminal busbar.

The first insulating cover and the second insulating cover may respectively shield the space where the first busbar and the second busbar are spaced apart from each other, and the first busbar and the second busbar, respectively, thereby blocking a short circuit between the first busbar and the second busbar.

The first insulating cover and the second insulating cover may be coupled to the busbar frame.

The first insulating cover and the second insulating cover may be respectively coupled to the busbar frame using an adhesive.

The first insulating cover and the second insulating cover may be respectively coupled to the busbar frame by a fastening member.

The first insulating cover and the second insulating cover may be coupled to the end plate by an adhesive.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a battery pack comprising the above-mentioned battery module.

A battery module and a battery pack including the same according to embodiments of the present disclosure can prevent a short circuit between busbars and ensure the stability of the battery module, through a structure for securing the interval between busbars, a double partition wall structure between busbars, and a structure for securing the interval between the busbars and the housing bottom part.

The effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above and additional other effects not described above will be clearly understood from the description of the appended claims by those skilled in the art.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry them out.

The present disclosure may be modified in various different ways, and is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

A description of parts not related to the description will be omitted herein for clarity, and like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the description.

Further, in the drawings, the size and thickness of each element are arbitrarily illustrated for convenience of description, and the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to those illustrated in the drawings. In the drawings, the thickness of layers, regions, etc. are exaggerated for clarity. In the drawings, for convenience of description, the thicknesses of some layers and regions are exaggerated.

In addition, it will be understood that when an element such as a layer, film, region, or plate is referred to as being “on” or “above” another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” another element, it means that other intervening elements are not present. Further, the word “on” or “above” means disposed on or below a reference portion, and does not necessarily mean being disposed “on” or “above” the reference portion toward the opposite direction of gravity.

Further, throughout the specification, when a portion is referred to as “including” a certain component, it means that the portion can further include other components, without excluding the other components, unless otherwise stated.

Further, throughout the specification, when referred to as “planar”, it means when a target portion is viewed from the upper side, and when referred to as “cross-sectional”, it means when a target portion is viewed from the side of a cross section cut vertically.

is a perspective view of a battery module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.is a partial perspective view of a battery module in which components of the battery module ofare combined.

As illustrated in, the battery module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes a battery cell stackformed by stacking a plurality of battery cells, a pair of busbar framesmounted on both ends of the battery cell stack, a framefor housing the battery cell stack, and a pair of end platesthat wrap, at both end parts, a cell block in which the battery cell stackand the busbar frameare combined.

The battery cellis preferably a pouch type battery cell. In the present embodiment, the battery cell stackis stacked along the y-axis direction of, is arranged inside the framein the z-axis direction, and can be cooled by a thermal conductive resin layerformed between the bottom part of the frameand the battery cell stack.

The framefor housing the battery cell stackmay include an upper plateand a housing. The housingincludes a plurality of unit housing parts, and the upper platemay be formed in a plate-shaped structure that covers the upper part of the battery cell stackmounted on the housing. The housingwraps the lower surface and both side surfaces of the battery cell stack, and the upper platemay wrap the remaining upper surface (z-axis direction). The upper plateand the housingare coupled by welding or the like where the edge parts corresponding to each other are in contact, so that a structure that covers the battery cell stackvertically and horizontally can be formed. The battery cell stackcan be physically protected through the upper plateand the housing. For this purpose, the upper plateand the housingmay include a metal material having a predetermined strength.

Meanwhile, although not specifically shown in the figure, the frame memberaccording to a modified example may be a mono frame in the form of a metal plate in which the upper surface, the lower surface, and both sides are integrated. That is, the frame structure may not be a structure in which the housingand the upper plateare combined to each other, but may be manufactured by extrusion molding and have a structure in which the upper surface, the lower surface, and both sides are integrated.

Busbar framesmay be positioned on the open first side (x-axis direction) and the open second side (direction opposite to the x-axis) of the battery cell stackto cover the battery cell stack, and at the same time, serve to guide the connection between the battery cell stackand the external device. Specifically, a busbarmay be mounted on the busbar frame, and the electrode leadsandof the battery cellsmay pass through a slot formed in the busbar frameand then be bent to be joined to the busbar. Thereby, the battery cellsconstituting the battery cell stackmay be connected in series or in parallel.

The busbaraccording to the present embodiment may include a first busbarand a second busbar, and the area of the first busbarmay be larger than the area of the second busbar. The second busbarmay be a terminal busbar, and a protrusion partat one end of the second busbarmay be bent from the z-axis direction to the x-axis direction.

The protrusion partof the second busbarmay be exposed to the outside of the battery module. The second busbarcan be connected to another battery module or a Battery Disconnect Unit (BDU) to form a high voltage (HV) connection. Here, the HV connection serves as a power source for supplying power, and refers to a connection between battery cells or a connection between battery modules.

The end platemay be positioned on the open first side (x-axis direction) and the open second side (direction opposite to the x-axis) of the frame memberto cover the battery cell stack. The end platecan physically protect the battery cell stackand other electrical components from external impact. A busbar framemay be positioned between the battery cell stackand the end plate.

An insulating cover for electrical insulation may be formed between the busbar frameand the end plate. Hereinafter, the insulating cover according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

is a front view of the battery module ofwhere the insulating cover is attached to the battery module.is a perspective view of a projection of the insulating cover on the battery module ofwhere the insulating cover covers the busbar.

As illustrated in, the battery module according to the present embodiment includes an insulating coverpositioned between the end plateand the battery cell stack. The insulating coveraccording to the present embodiment includes a first insulating coverand a second insulating cover, wherein the first insulating covercovers the first busbarcoupled to the busbar frame, and the second insulating covermay cover the second busbarcoupled to the busbar frame.

In the case of the insulating cover according to a comparative example, there is no structure that physically blocks two busbars adjacent to each other. Therefore, the busbars may be easily corroded due to the outflow of the electrolyte solution and/or the inflow of moisture, or a short circuit between adjacent busbars may be easily formed by foreign materials. If a short circuit between the busbars occurs in this way, it may cause module ignition. On the contrary, according to the present embodiment, the separation spaceP between the first busbarand the second busbarand the first busbarand the second busbarcan be shielded when the first busbarand the second busbaradjacent to each other are covered by the first insulating coverand the second insulating cover, respectively. Specifically, as shown in, the first insulating covercan cover the first busbarsuch that the first insulating coverwraps around the front surface of the first busbarin the x-axis direction, and all four side surfaces of the first busbar, and the second insulating covercan cover the second busbarsuch that the second insulating coverwraps around the front surface of the second busbarin the x-axis direction, and all four side surfaces of the second busbar. With this structure, it is possible to physically block the electrolyte solution from flowing into the first busbarand the second busbareven when the electrolyte solution flows out into the separation spaceP between the first busbarand the second busbar, which face each other. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to protect the busbarfrom foreign material and moisture as well as the electrolyte solution.

In other words, the first insulating coverand the second insulating covercan shield the spaceP, which is formed when the first busbarand the second busbarare spaced apart from each other, from the first busbarand the second busbar, thereby blocking a short circuit between the first busbarand the second busbar

The first insulating coverand the second insulating covercan be coupled to the busbar frame. Each of the first insulating coverand the second insulating covermay be coupled to the busbar frameusing an adhesive, or may be coupled to the busbar frameby a fastening member. The fastening member may be coupled using a hole, a hook, or the like, but is not limited thereto and may be fastened by various known methods.

is a partial perspective view of a battery module according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofis almost the same as the embodiment illustrated in, and only the differences between these drawings will be described below.

As illustrated in, the insulating coveraccording to the present embodiment includes a first insulating coverfor covering the first busbarand a second insulating coverfor covering the second busbar, and may further include a third insulating coverpositioned at the lower end of the protrusion partat one end of the terminal busbar

The third insulating coveraccording to the present embodiment may serve to insulate the terminal busbar. The terminal busbarmay be connected to another battery module or a battery disconnect unit (BDU) to form a high voltage (HV) connection.

The third insulating covermay be integrally formed with the second insulating cover

In addition to the differences described above, all the contents described in the embodiments ofare also applicable to the present embodiment.